The world joined Tanzanian people to mourn the death of their President John Pombe Magufuli. His death was announced by the country’s vice-president Samia Suluhu Hassan in an address on state television.
Magufuli succumbed to heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday. He has not been seen in public for more than two weeks, and rumours have been circulating that he had contracted Covid-19.
Magufuli who was serving his second term in office was 61. He was known for his scepticism against Covid-19 and Tanzania did not have a lockdown or any form of restrictions to curb the pandemic.
Magufuli, a son of a peasant farmer worked as a teacher of chemistry and mathematics at The Sengerema Secondary School briefly before joining the Nyanza Cooperative Union Limited as an industrial chemist. He later quit his job when he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) to represent Chato district.
He served twice as Member of Parliament before becoming Minister of Lands and Human Settlement, Minister of Livestock and Fisheries and again Minister of Works.
Before he became president in 2015, he acquired the nickname “the bulldozer” for driving a programme to build roads as minister for works, and later was hailed for his anti-corruption stance and his distinct dislike for wasting money.
With a PhD in Chemistry, he is among the top 5 most educated Presidents in Africa. Shockingly when it came to COVID-19, he seemed not to believe in science.
Here are some of his famous quotes;
.If wisdom prevails, we will pass through this situation in a peaceful manner.
. You cannot talk of preserving environment when the majority of the citizens are depending on charcoal or wood for most of their energy source.
It’s now time for us to unite and put our ideological differences aside, i will work hard for all Tanzanians regardless of their tribal, religious or ideological affiliations.
The way to treat a boil is to squeeze it out, and I have made it my responsibility to do that. I know squeezing out a boil hurts but unfortunately there are no two ways about it.
. These Holy places are where God is. My fellow Tanzanians, let us not be afraid of going to praise Him
. Corona cannot survive in the body of Christ, it will burn. That is exactly why I did not panic while taking the Holy communion.
. Our home was grass thatched and like many boys I was assigned to herd cattle, as well as selling milk and fish to support my family, I know what it means to be poor. I will strive to help improve people’s welfare
. You people of Meatu keep livestock. You are good farmers. You can feed your children. Why would you opt for birth control? These are my views, but I don’t see any need for birth control in Tanzania.